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‘Why we still need gay-straight groups’

Narisa Windover, Brad Kostachuk, Alex Hyde, Heba Abdulmalik and Jessica Pickering are members of the Fruit Salad club - a Gay-Straight Alliance group at Thomas Haney secondary. They are dressed in accessories from the club’s flair box.

Section 115 - 27 of a miscellaneous legislation Bill 17 says people seeking to change their genders on their birth certificates must apply to the registrar general, saying they have “assumed, identifies with and intends to maintain the gender identity that corresponds with the desired sex designation.”

A statement from a doctor or psychologist saying that the gender designation on their birth certificate does not accord with their gender identity is also required. Minors will have to get the consent of their parents or guardians.

Dalton pointed out his vote against the section was a free vote, allowing Liberals to vote as they please, unlike the New Democrats, and that he still supported Premier Christy Clark.

“If somebody in their soul is a woman, they should be able to reflect that on their birth certificates, on their identification rather than going through a highly invasive surgery.”

Why would an MLA go against medical advice, he asked.

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